The present invention relates generally to board-to-board electrical connectors and more particularly, to a board-to-board connector having the ability to compensate for misalignment of mating connectors.
Electrical connectors are sometimes used to connect one printed circuit board to another printed circuit board while the two circuit boards assume a horizontal, parallel relationship. Usually, such connectors are fixed to opposing surfaces of the two printed circuit boards. Such board-to-board connectors include a female connector member, referred to as a receptacle, which is fixed to one printed circuit board and a corresponding male member, referred to as a plug, which is fixed to the other printed circuit board. The plug and receptacle connectors engage each other by a press-fit engagement.
The connectors are typically mounted on printed circuit boards by either manual labor or by automated--mounting tools. The connector housings are mounted on their respective opposing circuit boards in alignment with each other and with respect to certain predetermined reference mounting lines on the printed circuit boards. This alignment includes alignment of the opposing connectors in both lateral and transverse directions. However, if any of the connectors are mounted slightly offset from the reference line on one of the printed circuit boards, this offset will cause misalignment between the offset connector and its mating connector, and increases the likelihood of poor electrical connection between the circuits of the two circuit boards. A small amount of misalignment will not present a problem when only one connector on each board is being mated together if nothing is restricting the movement of one of the boards.
Where multiple connectors are mounted to each of the opposing circuit boards and one of them is misaligned, the connectors of one circuit board may not completely mate with, or engage the opposing connectors on the opposing circuit board. Forced mating of the opposing plug and receptacle connectors may lead to distortions in or imposition of detrimental stress on the connector housing and terminals. As a result, poor electrical connections may occur between the printed circuit boards.
As understood from the above, it can be appreciated that conventional board-to-board connectors have the following disadvantages. First, if any of the plug or receptacle connectors fixed to the circuit board are offset from a predetermined longitudinal mounting reference line on one of the circuit boards, the male and female terminals held within the opposing connectors of the engaged connectors will be strongly forced against each other on one side of the housings while the male and female terminals on the other side of the housings are prone to be spaced apart. Thus, it is possible that reliable electric connections will not occur.
Secondly, the offset amount between the longitudinal centerline of the plug or receptacle and the circuit board longitudinal mounting reference line may remain within the gap which appears between the opposing sidewalls of the plug and receptacle housings but also increase the gap on one side and reduce it on the other side. This offset in the larger gap area may cause vibration between the plug and receptacle housings, which is noticeable particularly when such electric connectors are used in printed circuit boards installed in vehicles. Such vibration will cause chattering at contacts, causing malfunctions in associated circuits and excessive wearing of contacts.
The present invention overcomes these disadvantages and provides benefits over the prior art by providing an improved surface mount board-to-board connector which permits increased tolerances to misalignment in the mounting of connectors without degradation of performance.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved surface mount, board-to-board connector.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a surface mount electrical connector which assures reliable, good electric connections despite an offset between the longitudinal centerline of the plug or receptacle and a longitudinal reference mounting line on associated printed circuit boards.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a surface mount board-to-board connector for interconnecting two opposing circuit boards together, the connector including two interengageable connector halves, each of the connector halves having an elongated housing, each housing having two flanges disposed on opposite ends thereof and extending from the housings toward respective circuit boards, the flanges having a central portion aligned with the centerlines of the housings, the flanges further having diverging surfaces which extend away from the housing centerlines and from the circuit boards, the diverging surfaces permitting the connector housings to tilt about their centerlines to thereby effect a reliable engagement between the connector halves when one of the connector halves is misaligned from a reference mounting line on one circuit board.